Winter is hard on your hands. Smooth, supple and soft in September, hands may become red, cracked and rough in February.
The main culprit? Lack of moisture.
In winter, the humidity in the outside air drops. It is even drier inside thanks to the indoor heating. Washing your hands regularly to avoid catching colds or flu can suck away any natural oils left in your skin.
This can cause your hands to become so dehydrated that they crack, peel and bleed.
“People will have cracks in their hands and they’ll come to me and say they can’t figure out what’s going on,” says New York City author dermatologist Ellen Marmur, MD. Simple skin Beauty: Every woman’s guide to healthy, beautiful skin for a lifetime. “It’s just extremely dry skin.”
The good news, Marmur says, “is that once you recognize that, you’re already halfway to solving the problem.”
How well your hands can withstand the harsh winter conditions has a lot to do with the strength of our skin barrier, says Charles Crutchfield III, MD, professor of dermatology at the University of Minnesota Medical School.
The skin barrier is a mix of proteins, lipids and oils. It protects your skin, and how well it does its job largely depends on your genes.
If you have a weak barrier, you are more susceptible to symptoms of sensitive skin, such as itching, inflammation and eczema. Your hands are also more likely to become very dry in winter.
If you had an infection due to chapped hands last year, it is more likely to happen again every winter.
To treat parched, flaky hands, you need to replenish the moisture your thirsty skin is lacking. Experts point out that drinking water will not.
“It’s the moisturizer applied directly to the skin that keeps water from evaporating and gives your skin a healthy, dewy appearance,” says dermatologist Amy Wechsler, MD, author of The ghost-Beauty Connection: 9 days to fight stress and aging and reveal more youthful, beautiful skin.
Start moisturizing before there is a problem. “The best prevention is to start using a moisturizer for your hands are showing signs of dehydration,” says Marmur.
Applying a moisturizer once a day is not enough. “That’s probably enough protection for about five minutes,” says Marmur.
If you apply moisturizer more often, the effects will last longer. Five to six applications per day will provide 24-hour protection, according to Marmur.
To achieve that goal, Marmur suggests practicing what she calls “good product placement.” In addition to keeping a large jar or tube of your favorite over-the-counter moisturizer in your bathroom, stash smaller sizes in your purse, gym bag, and on your desk so that application becomes a habit.
Don’t forget to rub the hand cream or lotion over your cuticles and nails. “Nails can become dry, just like the skin on the hands,” says Crutchfield.
You will find many hand creams and body lotions on the shelves of your drugstore. Wechsler says we need to cut through the clutter by remembering that just two types of ingredients do most of the work when it comes to keeping your skin soft and hydrated: emollients and humectants.
Emollients act like lubricants on the skin’s surface. They fill the gaps between cells that are ready to be shed and ensure that the loose edges of the dead skin cells that remain stick together.
“The slippery feeling you get after applying a moisturizer is most likely due to emollients,” says Wechsler. “They help keep the skin soft, smooth and supple.” Look for ingredients like lanolin, jojoba oil, isopropyl palmitate, propylene glycol linoleate, squalene and glycerol stearate.
Humectants draw moisture from the environment to the skin’s surface, increasing the water content of the outer layer of the skin. Scan the ingredients label for common humectants such as glycerin, hyaluronic acid, sorbitol, propylene glycerol, urea and lactic acid.
If your hands are not just dry and rough, but also have small cracks or fissures and are tender or bleeding, it’s time to switch to more therapeutic moisturizers.
Petroleum jelly is a reliable standby. Or choose a thick, rich moisturizer in a formula that contains heavier ingredients, such as dimethicone, cocoa or shea butter, or beeswax.
Apply the cream before going to bed, put on a pair of cotton gloves or socks and leave it on all night.
To protect your hands while protecting your health by washing your hands regularly, choose a mild soap, use warm, not hot, water, pat your hands dry and immediately apply moisturizer.
If you have severely dry hands or wash your hands twelve or more times a day, replace a hand sanitizer gel or wipes with soap and water for some sessions.
“These alcohol-based sanitizers do dry out the skin,” says Marmur, “but for people who wash their hands a lot — whether they’re doctors, moms, or dog walkers — it’s actually a little gentler on the skin than soap and water.”
Using a humidifier can also help your skin.
The higher humidity will not only soothe your super dry hands, they will also help soothe dry, itchy skin all over your body (including chapped lips) and soothe a stuffy nose.
Make sure you maintain (and clean) the unit regularly so it doesn’t release bacteria or mold into the air, Marmur says.
Wear gloves or mittens if it’s cold and you’ll be outside longer than a trip to the car or to get the mail on cold days. If your hands get wet, dry them and then apply moisturizer.
If redness, peeling and tenderness persist, consult a dermatologist. They may prescribe a steroid cream to help combat inflammation, and also check to see if your dry hands may be due to a skin condition such as eczema or psoriasis.
If your skin is healthy, you can tolerate basic care – resist the urge to warm up in hot water and keep simple, effective remedies at hand – you can endure winter until the spring warmth arrives.